Ended todays tea session with 3.5g of some 96yr CNNP 8582 stuffed into a 70ml xishi. This tea is rather wet (Taiwan) so it's normally pretty dark but for some reason this session came out orange instead of deep red. This tea has improved this past year or so. I wish i had picked up 2 of these or possibly a tong. I'm begging to learn that its best to buy in bulk if you really like something. Thats hard to do if you only have one session and a short window of opportunity.

2003 Tai Lian raw brick. A very nice tasting, complex tea that goes against the conventional wisdom of bricks being inferior to cakes. No wetness detected. There is, however, some smokiness in the bricks I have. Luckily, the smokiness subsides after some brews. This batch came from Tea Urchin. I'm wondering if anyone has tried this brick from other sources and whether smoke is present in all batches and whether they have been more or less dry stored.

Drinking a '92 YiWu Raw Maocha that was purchased in Maliandao in July 2011. Smells and taste of fragrant incense of sandalwoods and licorice with a full body and smooth drink. Very slight pleasant astringency from 2 more years of storage after purchase. Lines the inner throats that gives a soothing feeling for a long while.Very pleasant indeed.

02 Yi wu spirit of the ancients. I really enjoy this tea. Not only is it probably one of the best values for a tea that has a little age on it. Its also like a treasure hunt. Just in chipping off a pots worth of tea I found a sunflower seed and a fennel seed.

Hifedelitea - ESsence of tea also now carries a 92 Yi wu Moacha that I just happen to be drinking yesterday. It seems to happen all the Time that I will be drinking a tea and someone will write a blog post / review on the tea at the same time halfway around the world.

Trying out a new $10 yixing i bought in Chinatown last week. I was hoping this pot was under 150ml but its not. Sadly its the same size as my Sunsing pot but thicker/heavier and possibly lower fired. Does a duller clay mean it's lower fired? I brewed that 90's Taiwan brick from realchinatea and it does a rather nice job. The other 2 aged teas worked well too. It doesn't mute too much aroma or flavor. I suspect this pot is gonna see some heavy use with mid-aged sheng. I also picked up another cheap 100ml yixing in Chinatown today. Its a bit thinner and possibly higher fired too. I'm hoping to use this one for dryer stored sheng under 15yr. I already have 5g of 2000 Fu Hai brick set for my first session with this new guy. I'm really hoping this pot likes it younger and dryer. Its the perfect size for everything i drink so if dryer sheng fails i'll try my Hong Kong stuff. Tomorrows update will include my first impressions. I now have a family of four!

Zared wrote:Trying out a new $10 yixing i bought in Chinatown last week. I was hoping this pot was under 150ml but its not. Sadly its the same size as my Sunsing pot but thicker/heavier and possibly lower fired. Does a duller clay mean it's lower fired? I brewed that 90's Taiwan brick from realchinatea and it does a rather nice job. The other 2 aged teas worked well too. It doesn't mute too much aroma or flavor. I suspect this pot is gonna see some heavy use with mid-aged sheng. I also picked up another cheap 100ml yixing in Chinatown today. Its a bit thinner and possibly higher fired too. I'm hoping to use this one for dryer stored sheng under 15yr. I already have 5g of 2000 Fu Hai brick set for my first session with this new guy. I'm really hoping this pot likes it younger and dryer. Its the perfect size for everything i drink so if dryer sheng fails i'll try my Hong Kong stuff. Tomorrows update will include my first impressions. I now have a family of four!

Change of plan today! I decided after a long day at work that i needed something deep and dark to fill my new pot. Dry brick will have to wait another day. Some nice wet 90's sheng from Taiwan made its way into my cup instead. Such a lovely dampness about this tea. This yixing smooths it a a little but retains most of its true nature. I cant wait to see how it handles dryer tea. I might just have to buy another one of these if the results are positive. The only down side so far is the single hole that gets clogged a bit but thats a simple fix.